Movie Review – The Time Traveler's Wife
Based on the Best-Selling Novel by Audrey Niffenegger
Aug 16, 2009
Adapting The Time Traveler’s Wife for the big screen must have been a daunting task — Audrey Niffenegger’s book is a rich, layered tale that jumps across several timelines. Both the novel and the movie follow Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana), a Chicago librarian with a genetic anomaly that causes him to move through time without his control, and Claire Abshire (Rachel McAdams), the woman whose entire life is intertwined with Henry’s.
Streamlining Niffenegger’s Narrative
Bruce Joel Rubin does an admirable job of translating Niffenegger’s complicated book for the screen, turning a time-jumping narrative into a linear plot peppered with occasional flashbacks. In order to distill the story into a movie of reasonable length, the film version of The Time Traveler’s Wife sheds several subplots to focus on the love story between Henry and Claire, and several of the book’s secondary characters are given reduced roles or eliminated completely.
Certain aspects of the novel — including Henry’s relationship with his father and the medical explanation for his condition — are briefly addressed in single scenes and never revisited, and large portions of Henry and Claire’s relationship are covered in well-crafted montages. Those who have read the novel will be able to fill in the blanks, but those who have not are likely to feel like something is missing.
Revisiting Henry and Claire
For moviegoers who read the novel, however, the film version of The Time Traveler’s Wife is likely to be an enjoyable experience. All of the book’s most memorable sequences — like Henry and Claire’s first encounter in the meadow and Claire’s discovery of present-day Henry in the library — are included, and they come to life beautifully on film.
Additionally, Bana and McAdams both give strong performances. As Henry, Bana displays the perfect balance of angst over his condition and devotion to his family. McAdams completely transforms into Claire, displaying genuine emotion and perfectly capturing the character’s passionate spirit. And, although she only appears in a few scenes, Brooklynn Proulx shines as the younger version of Claire.
Both Familiar and Foreign
The Time Traveler’s Wife is a film that is difficult to judge independently of its source material, because the viewer’s knowledge of that source material will shape his or her experience with the film. Because they are familiar with the intricacies of Niffenegger’s story, those who read the book know what to expect and are likely to enjoy seeing the highlights of the novel on film.
Viewers who are being introduced to this story for the first time, on the other hand, are likely to be confused, and that confusion will diminish their appreciation for Niffenegger’s lovely plot. If you’ve already read the book, don’t hesitate to see the film version. If you haven’t read the book, you should probably do so to fully experience the movie.
